The wait for Big Ten play is nearly over.
No. 1 UCLA women’s basketball (11-0, 1-0 Big Ten) is set to wrap up its non-conference schedule with a marquee matchup against Creighton (9-2, 1-0) in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic. Held at the Chase Center in San Francisco, the game marks the Bruins’ final opportunity to fine-tune their play before diving into the heart of Big Ten competition.
Following the matchup with the Bluejays, the Bruins are set for three consecutive conference matchups to begin the new year. As the Bruins head into the bulk of their season, the preparation is over, graduate student forward Angela Dugalić said.
“We’ve done a tremendous job … to come in and be really coachable. That’s not an easy thing to do,” Dugalić said. “Especially coming from different programs or coming in as a freshman, so I think that’s a big thing, and just everyone having a goal, the same goal, and that’s what we’re striving for at the end of the day.”
In UCLA’s most recent outing against Cal Poly, four Bruins had double-digit performances, including Dugalić and junior guard Londynn Jones, each reaching 12 points. The Bruins held their opponent to just 37 points, with 19 coming off turnovers. Now turning their attention to the Bluejays, the Bruins are looking to perfect some lingering inconsistencies.
“Creighton will spread us out a lot,” said coach Cori Close. “They obviously have our attention because of the NCAA tournament last year.”
The meeting between UCLA and Creighton will be the fourth in program history. The teams last clashed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32, where the Bruins rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to secure a 67-63 victory.
“I think everybody’s just been excited to win,” said junior forward Janiah Barker. “I think we all have the same goal: win championships. We know it takes whatever it takes to do that, and I love to see … just how much we put in work, how much we really want to get better and how evident it is not talk – it’s really just do.”
In the last matchup against the Bluejays, junior guard Kiki Rice led the charge with 17 of her game-high 24 points coming in the second half, while junior center Lauren Betts notched her 12th double-double of the 2023-2024 season, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Along with Betts and Rice, junior guard Gabriela Jaquez added a season-high 11 rebounds to anchor the Bruins’ dominance on the glass, as they out-rebounded the Bluejays 40-22, including a 12-4 edge on the offensive boards. It was the third quarter performance, sparked by Rice’s nine points, that gave UCLA its first lead since the opening quarter. With a former NCAA match up to end the 2024 year, the Bruins are focused on a rematch to prepare for the season.
“These are all NCAA tournament teams, so we invite this,” Dugalić said. “We want them to bring their best toward us, because at the end of the day, we’re all getting better, and we just have to become a team.”
After taking on Creighton, UCLA will dive into a six-game Big Ten slate, where it will look to defend its No. 1 ranking – the first in program history – and continue building momentum for March.
“We don’t need to be good at everything all the time,” Close said. “We’ve had very good starts all year long, and I think that we lose track of what we’re trying to accomplish together. … Once we get that back, we’re pretty darn good.”
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